Shekinah Retreat Centre is set in the river valley on 287 acres of land. With a remarkable setting and some excellent facilities a lot goes on here. The purpose of this blog is to share some of the experiences, stories and moments that make this place what it is... special!

Shekinah Website

Thursday, 29 January 2015

What's it Like to Live at Shekinah?

I have been asked this question a number of times in the
last few months since my family and I moved in. As each new experience reveals
itself I keep thinking how fortunate we are to be in a place like this. But
what is it like? Many of you will know what it’s like to come and experience
Shekinah, but living here is different. Before I answer that question let me
give you a bit of context, let me tell you a bit about where I have lived
before I came to Shekinah.

I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa which is a city of
about 7 million people. A big, busy place with traffic that would put anything
Saskatchewan could ever hope to offer to shame. I always knew that Johannesburg
would not remain my home forever, I needed to be closer to the outdoors, to
peace and quiet and to fishing. I left South Africa in 2006 and downsized my
habitat to the quaint little city of Galway, Ireland. 60 000 neighbours seemed
much more to my liking, and when you live along the coast and in one of the
most beautiful countries in the world there isn’t too much to complain about.
Except for the rain, oh the rain... I recall a report on the radio one morning
that in County Galway (which you can drive across easily in about 45 minutes)
it had rained every day for the last 111 days. It can rain there!

I met my wife in Galway, and she brought me to Rosthern.
About 1500 people now and certainly now my habitat was becoming more to my
liking. I arrived in July and couldn’t understand what people were talking
about, the weather was wonderful and it wasn’t raining! I had heard about -40C,
actually when I found out I panicked because I had already agreed to come to
Saskatchewan. After deciding that it must be possible to survive because
Saskatchewan does have a stable population I figured it would probably be OK.
It was and it is OK. I will take -40C over the incessant rain and crazy traffic
and stress any day! When we moved from Rosthern out to a farm a few years ago I
truly began to appreciate the space and the beauty that we have here. The key
to surviving winter here is to figure out how to enjoy it, how to embrace it
and look forward to it. Winter here is too long to hate and this province is
too beautiful not to enjoy it 12 months of the year.

So when my wife, my two boys and I moved here a couple
months ago it truly felt like this was the place I had been looking for and
moving towards. Every day we take in new things and appreciate what a beautiful
area this is and what an incredible backyard we have. Being able to sip a
morning coffee and look across the river valley or barbecuing while the sun
sets and the light fades behind the trees really makes me happy. So far we have
only really experienced winter here, but what a winter it has been! The
temperatures have been great and it has allowed us to go out and explore.

Even through the colder periods I have already had my eyes
opened to the abundance of life that is here. My oldest son, Alex came home
from school one day with a pine cone that was covered in peanut butter and bird
seed. We hung it outside the dining room window to see what would happen. I
always knew that there are still birds around in winter, but we really aren’t
used to seeing them. Now we have a family of chickadees that we feed outside
our window. We have seen four at one time eating off the feeder and not just
during the nice periods of weather but also on the coldest days.

Then there is Rabby. Alex named him and he is the rabbit
that lives under our deck. He seems to be getting less skittish but it is great
to spot him when we do. It makes for a great activity to try and see if we can
see Rabby when we are going out or coming home from some activity. From our
dining room table we have also seen deer and owls. From the deck we have heard
wolves and coyotes, lots and lots of coyotes! We go for walks and see what
tracks we can identify, we play, we explore and, as a family, we feel truly
blessed and excited to be here and to be a part of Shekinah.